The Firefox browser and JAWS - at last!

Our favorite browser finally bites. First off, let''s be very clear. We like Firefox. A lot! But up until now, it lacked the teeth required for users in the visually impaired community.

Firefox is the default browser at WATS.ca, and has been almost since its release (we also have Mozilla builds, current and out-dated Netscape releases, as well as IE, Opera, Lynx, HomePageReader and others). It's stable, fast, secure and (pretty much) Standards compliant. We like the fact that it is an Open Source project, with the ability to be customizable to the nth degree, and we're impressed with the number of Extensions which are emerging which aid both users and developers. We actively supported it's unique and innovative marketing strategy, and I personally continue to evangilize on this tool to all my family and other personal contacts, urging them to switch browsers.

But, Firefox didn't work with JAWS - meaning that users of this popular Assistive Technology could not take advantage of what we consider to be a superior browser to Internet Explorer.

To understand why, you must first understand how JAWS works. Freedom Scientific have leveraged Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) to interact with various Windows based software using a series of custom scripts (.JSS files). JAWS "sits on top" of the Operating System, and interacts with your applications - as long as there is a script available. At one time, the "browser script" which shipped with JAWS actually only supported Netscape (back in the version 2 and version 3 days), however, today Freedom Scientific only ships with a script for Internet Explorer. And while writing custom JAWS scripts can be done, it is no mean feat; and as a group of University of Texas students found out, sometimes impossible.

However, this team of developers soldiered on, and at the end of December 2004 delivered their Final Release of Sharkware - JAWS Screen Reader Adaptation for Mozilla Firefox. This Open Source Mozilla extension, coupled with some custom scripting (and a very weird .TTF file) now makes the Firefox Browser available to the visually impaired community. Working with Dr. John Slatin, Director of the UT Accessibility Institute and co-author of Maximum Accessibility, this intrepid team experienced more than a few hurdles (including, sadly, minimal support from Freedom Scientific) in developing this tool, but thankfully overcame these issues. I won't repeat their journey here, but their web site does a decent job of charting their course.

Installing the package is pretty straight-forward, and I had no problem implementing both the scripts required as well as the Firefox .xpi extension. From my limited testing, it appers to work as promised, although I am the first to admit that I am but a casual JAWS user - I will be asking our AT Specialist Stacy Bleeks to give it a more thorough walk through, and we hope to have a more detailed report posted soon. The Final Release supports the native Firefox navigational HotKeys as well as web page reading functionality. It is able to recognize links, headings, blockquotes, lists, and tables. It will also identify images and their associated alt text, title, and long description attributes. Finally, it allows multicolumn webpages to be read back in a sensible fashion.

I noted with interest however that the Sharkware team have also created some "new" HotKey associations - specifically Alt +1 through Alt + 6 (which allows the user to cycle through the Page Headings), throwing a spanner into the works for our friends in the UK who insist on using the UK government prescribed Accesskeys. We've written at length on this topic, were instrumental in getting the Canadian Government to reverse their policy on Accesskeys, and continue to inform people of some of the pitfalls in implementing accesskeys so they can make informed decisions. We've updated our list of Reserved Keystrokes to reflect these additions.

Kudos to Charles Chen, Shi Chang Hou, Brian Littleton, Edward Mao, Andy Marici and Yiuman Szeto on a job well done. The Sharkware homepage may be found at: www.cs.utexas.edu/users/s2s/latest/jaws1/home/index.shtml

Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons License